A comprehensive survey of the history of airborne warfare from its modest beginnings in 1794 with the use of a tethered balloon, showing how each significant technical development substantially altered the ways in which wars were fought. Perfect for fans of Will Iredale, Patrick Bishop and Mark Urban.

During the Second World War some of the most daring airborne operations were conducted in Crete, Sicily, Normandy, the Philippines and across the Rhine. Yet where did the idea of airborne mobility arise from and how did such strategies develop in the years after the defeat of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan?Michael Hickey’s book utilises thorough research, including interviews with many veterans of the campaigns described, to provide a history of airborne warfare in its widest sense: parachute, glider, helicopter and reconnaissance.

Covering from its infancy through to the years after the Vietnam War, Hickey provides insight into one of modern warfare’s most powerful asset: air-mobility. ‘This is an excellent book … about total battlefield air-mobility — encompassing both the parachute and the helicopter.

As such, it fills the void left in many military histories’ Military Review‘The book is especially useful in discussing the development of paradrop operations and takes the story beyond World War II to include Korea, Suez, Israel and Vietnam. ’ Air University ReviewOut of the Sky should be essential reading for all interested in the development of air assault tactics.

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